01 August 2003
Transport for London has warned its congestion charge contractor that it must see 'direct and fundamental' improvements in the administration of the scheme, after agreeing to pay the firm up to £31m extra because there are fewer cars on the capital's roads.
TfL also said Capita had 'made some mistakes' during the first five months of the scheme, most notably in customer services and enforcement. It 'expected to see lasting improvements in administration' after renegotiating its payments to the firm this week.
This followed a study by independent auditors Deloitte & Touche, which found that Capita stood to make no profit from the scheme because the number of drivers discouraged from using London's roads during peak hours was greater than expected.
The drop in traffic since the introduction of the £5-a-day scheme in February has been as high as 38%, leaving Capita short of revenue from fines. London Mayor Ken Livingstone agreed to boost Capita's income by paying the firm around £4.90 for every fine issued to drivers avoiding the charge – which could total £31m.
But while TfL has been happy with the way Capita established the charging system, it has been less than impressed with the firm's customer services and enforcement. It has raised concerns over the way that fines have been administered and over inaccurate data.
Asked whether TfL was pleased with the way that customer services had been managed, a spokesman told Public Finance: 'Obviously not, otherwise we would not be entering into new arrangements. But we expected some teething problems. We have a good relationship with Capita generally and the message now is "let's get it right in future".'
Capita refused to comment.
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